Celtics lose to Hawks in meaningless game

Sunday

With four starters sitting out the final quarter, the Celtics were overtaken by the Hawks, 112-106, Sunday afternoon.

BOSTON – They are locked in as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, making the remaining regular-season games meaningless.

So the Celtics are spending the final days on their schedule getting their key players some rest as the playoffs approach and increasing the minutes of their reserves.

That strategy was on full display at the TD Garden Sunday afternoon when the Celtics and the lottery-bound Atlanta Hawks got together for a game that meant absolutely nothing.

Coach Brad Stevens gave Marcus Morris the day off, then sat out four of his starters in the fourth quarter, turning the matter over to Semi Ojeleye, Shane Larkin, Abdel Nader, Jabari Bird and Greg Monroe.

The Celtics could not hold a 13-point lead and wound up losing to the Hawks, 112-106, who might have cost themselves a few Ping-Pong balls in next month’s NBA Draft lottery with the comeback victory.

For the Celtics, who have two regular-season games to go, it’s all about getting as prepared as possible for the playoffs without Kyrie Irving, Marcus Smart, Daniel Theis and Gordon Hayward.

“You don’t have to keep on harping on those guys being injured,’’ said Monroe after getting 17 points and four assists. “It’s unfortunate, it happens, but guys are still going to come out here and try to win the game, point blank, period.’’

The starters, except for Baynes, called it a day with a six-point lead going into the final quarter, and the reserves built the advantage to 13 points before faltering the rest of the way.

Stevens wanted his first unit to play only a certain amount of minutes and get a look at some reserves in crunch time.

“That was the point of playing guys who don’t usually play late,’’ said Stevens. “I thought some guys did some really good things. They did a really good job at the start of the fourth and let their guard down a little bit defensively and got Atlanta back in the game.

“To be able to play those guys and get them reps and be able to do some of that stuff (is good). They did some good things, but not enough to win the game.’’

Ojeleye had a career-best 13 points, hitting all three of his 3-pointers, and Bird had his second-straight impressive game with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting and five rebounds. Larkin, who will back up Terry Rozier at the point in the playoffs, had seven assists in 22 minutes but missed seven of his nine shots.

“Losing a number of guys now and having guys sit out, I think guys off the bench realize you have to take more shots,’’ said Ojeleye. “So it’s good for us, but we wish we had those guys as always.’’

Bird, who will not be on the playoff roster because he has a two-way contract with the Maine Red Claws of the NBA G League, has taken advantage of his late-season opportunities.

He scored 15 points against the Chicago Bulls on Friday night after having only five points in limited NBA action prior to that game.

“He’s playing well,’’ said Stevens. “He’s doing some good things. He’s done a good job in the last couple of games.’’

The Celtics are going to be severely shorthanded when they play either the Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks or the Washington Wizards starting this weekend.

Stevens will have to come up with a rotation to support the starters, and the second unit players will need to contribute.

“It’ll be very important,’’ said Monroe. “The depth of this team has been one of the strengths. That will only been seen more in the playoffs with the caliber of players that are out. We are going to have to rely on our players and guys have to be ready when their number is called.’’

Two more meaningless games remain with the Celtics playing in Washington Tuesday night and finishing the regular season Wednesday against the Brooklyn Nets.

Then a team that looks very little like the one that opened the season in October will venture into the playoffs, ready or not.

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